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Kill Weeds with Heat

Follow the link to find the status of your fire season before using www.checkitsalright.nz

With some new research linking glyphosate with cancer and other research saying it is safe, it becomes very confusing. We all make a personal choice on deciding on what we want to believe, so some of you may be thinking about alternatives. Unlike glyphosate, weed burners are not a chemical spray, so their method of destroying weeds is not systemic.They work by damaging the weed's leaves with a blast of intense heat that could be as high as 1200 degrees celcius. Only the area where the heat gets to is damaged. The roots are left intact. Leaves feed the weed via photosynthesis, so with no leaves the weed starves and dies. However, if it has an established root system (like a dock, oxalis etc) it may have enough food reserves to recover. Persistant burning will eventually kill even the largest weed because it will run out of reserves.

Since weed burners are not systemic, if you do happen to singe the odd leaf of a wanted plant it will probably recover as long as it has a few intact leaves to grow on with.

Wide variety of use, not just weeds. Burning holes in weedmat for instance, but the best, we sold one to the NZ Stunt School for setting people on fire! Don't try this at home.

How effective are weed burners?

Above is the garden after winter. Some of the weeds here are quite large so may need follow-up treatment. Weed burners work best on small weeds that have not developed an extensive root system.
The picture above shows the garden 24 hours later after going over it with the commercial weed burrner. The domestic unit will do the same job, but it just takes longer to cover the area because of the smaller flame. However the domestic unit is more precise around wanted plants.

Hi there,
I just wanted to thank you for stocking this product. I finally gave it a go this weekend after receiving it a few weeks ago. I'd kind of laughed when I read on the box that it was fun. Well, it was. Not only that, but, while I was giving the parking area/driveway a blast a couple of little frogs jumped past me (out of the way of the flame) and it got me thinking about how much better it is for the environment than using a spray. I think that it is a great investment.
So thanks for being a great retailer.
I found out about you through NZ Gardener magazine.
Kind regards
Barbara S

One effective method of controlling weeds without sprays

Plan ahead. Burn off the weeds in your garden with your LPG weed burner at least a month before you intend to plant it (see above). Prepare the soil so it is a fine seed bed. If you have one of our Mantis tillers this is ideal as it will produce a lovely fine seed bed, perfect for weed germination. The idea here is to make the garden perfect for growing weeds. Water your garden well to get the weed seeds to germinate. When the weeds get to the two or three leaf stage (see picture below) burn them off with your weed burner. It is important to methodically go over the whole patch of garden as if you are painting it, because there are many small weeds present that are often hard to see and you need to get them all. If you only focus on the weeds you can see you will miss some.

You have now have removed a large number of the weed seeds from your soil. When planting, try not to disturb the soil too much.If you use our Leeaky Hose for irrigation it will keep the soil surface dry and thus reduce further weed germination.

Prepare a seed bed
Ideal size of weeds for burning off

 

LPG Weed Burner - Domestic (12 month warranty) In stock

This gas-powered heat gun is what so many gardeners overseas use in preference to poisonous chemical sprays. There is no spray drift and you don't have to wait for a fine day. The weeds don't have to be burnt to a cinder - simply give a short blast of intense heat to the plant to burst the cell walls. Within a few days the leaves should wilt and die.

Leave the dead plant material to add natural potash to the soil. It is best to treat weeds when they are small, as they then die completely. Using the weed burner is the same as chopping the top off the plant with a hoe - the roots remain intact. This is why it is so effective on small weeds - they have not yet established a good root system. If the undesirable plant has an extensive root system or a tap root, it will be much harder to kill. Repeated use of the weed burner will eventually kill the plant, however it is not practical to use the weed burner on large established weeds. The Domestic LPG Weed Burner is entirely self-contained; it has an integral piezo electric trigger/igniter (no batteries required) and fits onto a standard 9kg barbecue gas bottle. If you have a smaller bottle check out our 2kg to 3kg adapter below. The gas hose is assembled by a NZ registered gas fitter using an AS/NZS 1869 Class C WP2 6MPa LPG hose. The output can be controlled by a tap on the handle.

Sorry we do not sell adapter hoses or parts for other supplier's burners. You need to go back to whoever you purchased your burner from.

Note: We have found that the weed burner is great for burning holes in weed mat for planting. We have also found it is most effective on emerging weeds (those little ones that come up like a carpet after it has rained in spring). When weeds are at the two leaf stage they are most vulnerable.

Our picture shows you how you can set up your own weed exterminator. Use your existing barbecue bottle and purchase a hand truck and ratchet tie down (see details below on where you can purchase these), connect your burner and you are in business.

 

Estimated 13,000 BTU, approx 264g / hour gas consumption rate. On that consumption, theoretically a 9kg bottle will last about 34 hours. Nozzel outlet size is approx. 21mm in diameter.

2kg and 3kg bottle adapter

Both our weed burners have a standard POL fitting that fits standard 4kg and 9kg gas bottles. You may have a circumstance where you do not want such a large bottle. We now have an adapter that will easily enable you to connect any of our weedburners to the smaller 2kg or 3kg bottles. There are two catches. You may find that prolonged use, especially in cold weather might result in the smaller bottles icing up. This is physics, not a fault. The second catch. You need a spanner to connect the adaper to the smaller bottles, but once attached it can be left in place.

Just use the drop down below to select the adapter. No extra postage if you order with your burner. If you want it posted on its own then postal charges will appy. Adapter $20.50. $5.20 NI or SI, an additional $4.80 for rural delivery.

LPG Weed Burner (domestic) with a 1.5m hose to fit a standard 9kg LPG barbecue bottle only $195.00. (Bottle, hand truck and tie down not included.)
Postage packing and insurance NI $19.00, Rural additional $5.50, SI $25.50, Rural additional $5.50

Please note: To prevent unnecessary delays please make sure you select the RD option if you are a NZ Post rural address.

BUY NOW Choose a destination:
 
Where can you get the hand truck and tie down?

The small hand truck (solid wheels) costs approx $36.00, tie down to hold bottle $6.00. Items can be found at Mitre10, Bunnings, Supercheap Auto etc.

Click here to view a demonstration of the burner in action. (1.5 Mb)



LPG Weed Burner - Commercial made in USA (12 month warranty) in stock

This works in exactly the same way as the domestic model but has a much bigger flame. The output is 100,000 BTU and unlike the domestic LPG Weed Burner, there is not much precision on what you obliterate. Best for use in open areas. The unit comes with a separate flint lighter. Output can be controlled by a tap on the handle. Just connect to a barbecue bottle (we recommend a 9kg bottle so it does not freeze) and away you go. In our picture we show you how to set your own weed exterminating unit.

Maximum gas consumption is approx 2kg / hour. On that basis, theoretically a 9kg bottle will last approximately 4.5 hours. You can turn the flame down with the tap for a lower consumption, but this will affect the burn off rate. Nozzel outlet size approx. 46mm in diameter.

Where can you get the hand truck and tie down?

The small hand truck (solid wheels) costs approx $36.00, tie down to hold bottle $6.00. Items can be found at Mitre10, Bunnings, Supercheap Auto etc.

 

 

 2kg and 3kg bottle adapter

Both our weed burners have a standard POL fitting that fits standard 4kg and 9kg gas bottles. You may have a circumstancewhere you do not want such a large bottle. We now have an adapter that will easily enable you to connect any of our weedburners to the smaller 2kg or 3kg bottles. There are two catches. You may find that prolonged use, especially in cold weather might result in the smaller bottles icing up. This is physics, not a fault. The second catch. You need a spanner to connect the adaper to the smaller bottles, but once attached it can be left in place.

Just use the drop down below to select the adapter. No extra postage if you order with your burner. If you want it posted on its own then postal charges will appy. Adapter $20.50. $7.50 NI or SI, an additional $4.50 for rural delivery.

 

LPG Weed Burner (commercial), inc. burner, lighter, regulator and 3m hose to fit a standard 9kg LPG Barbecue Bottle only $339.25 inc GST
(Bottle, hand truck and tie down not included).
Postage packing and insurance NI $19.00,
Rural additional $5.50, SI $22.50, Rural additional $5.50

Please note: To prevent unnecessary delays please make sure you select the RD option if you are NZ Post rural address.

BUY NOW Choose a destination:

 

Suckers or shoots often come from rootstocks on fruit trees. These if left unchecked will eventually replace the grafted tree, so it is best to get rid of them when small. One way to do it is to "NUKE" them off with a weedburner being careful not to keep the flame near the bark for too long, just long enough to wilt the suckers.

Suckers growing from a quince rootstock on a pear tree "Nuking" them off with a weed burner being careful not to cook the bark and damage the cambian layer underneath
One day later
3 days later

 

 

 

 

 

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